Your Opinion: Mining all the fringe ideas

Your Opinion: Mining all the fringe ideas

November 16th, 2011by Tony Smith, Jefferson City
in News

Dear Editor:

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag and carrying a cross." This famous quote from the 1930s is still true today. A person who will call you ignorant, a liar and "... maggot infested scum" is hardly one that will get serious consideration when instructing us in the meaning of Biblical passages.

When we are given four or five letters touting the formation of America as a Christian nation and not merely a nation of Christians what is the point? That's when I go to the sources of this "point of view" like Rushdoony and Barton. They would totally agree with subverting the secular but fair government we have and institute "religious tests" although our constitution forbids such tests. A recent test of tithing was proposed in this letters section. We were told the IRS reported on inadequate tithing by our vice president.

Glenn Beck liked to mine all the fringe ideas out there to promote his various conspiracy theories. He did yeoman's work on publicizing numerous false ideas that are part of the Christian nation catechism. He falsely reported that our early Congress published a Bible for the use of schools. He falsely reported that John Adams believed that governments must be administered by the Holy Ghost. He falsely claimed that Jefferson dated all of his documents "In the year of our Lord Christ". He falsely claimed our Constitution was based on the Book of Deuteronomy.

When a Mormon like Glenn Beck gets rave reviews from fundamentalists for his work, he takes the next step. He then formed Beck U and featured a major Christian nation exponent, Reverend David Barton. This is the man who is making it a Crusade to tear down any separation of church and state. First, he denies that there was ever such intent by our founders. Secondly he rewrote his own American history to meet these goals.

You can steep yourself in this path but this is what the movement is about. The GOP has numerous legislators and candidates steeped in this view. For me, it is a gross overreach but logical when you have been told your government is your enemy. Forget the Taliban. The Republican presidential candidates have all told us they cannot wait to dismantle our government. So, what will replace it? I think we know it will not be Sharia law.